Preview: 2022 Jacques Léglise and Junior Vagliano Trophies

The 2022 Jacques Léglise and Junior Vagliano Trophies get underway on Friday at Blairgowrie Golf Club, Scotland.

The Continent of Europe will face Great Britain & Ireland in two seperate matches over two days.

Two teams of nine junior boys, aged 18-and-under, will contest the Jacques Léglise Trophy, while two teams of six junior girls, aged 16-and-under, will compete for the Junior Vagliano Trophy.

Historically played in opposite years to the Jacques Léglise, the Junior Vagliano Trophy will now be played annually, and is being contested alongside the boys' equivalent for the very first time.

The Jacques Léglise Trophy

First played in 1958, the Jacques Léglise trophy is now in its 54th edition. A number of high-profile players have competed on both sides of the match in the past including José María Olazábal, Thomas Bjorn, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.

The match takes places over two days, with four foursomes matches on both mornings, eight singles matches on the afternoon of the first day, and nine singles matches on the afternoon of the second day. With 25 total points on offer, 13 points are needed to secure victory.

The European side will have the chance to make it three in a row for the first time in the 64-year history of the match, having won the 2019 and 2021 editions.

The two teams look evenly matched on paper, with strong assets on both sides. England's Josh Hill, making his second appearance in the match, is the highest ranked player in the field. Currently at 64th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he'll look to help the GB&I side to their first win since 2018.

Fellow English team player, Frank Kennedy, is also amongst the highest ranked in the contest. The 16-year-old won the Portuguese International Amateur Championship earlier this year and is making his first appearance for Great Britain & Ireland this week.

Jorge Siyuan Hao is the highest ranked player on the European side. The Spanish player, who's also the youngest in the team, won the European Young Masters last year and finished in the top-5 of the European Amateur Championship earlier this summer.

The European side also have in-form Albert Hansson in their ranks. The Swedish junior won The R&A Boys' Amateur Championship earlier this month, and could prove to be a tough match play opponent, having won six matches in a row to claim the title at Carnoustie.

Three players from both teams will make their second appearance in the match. Oihan Guillamoundeguy (FRA), Marco Florioli (ITA) and Tim Wiedemeyer (GER) will look to make it two from two for the European side. Josh Hill, (ENG) Harley Smith (ENG) and Connor Graham (SCO) will look to avenge GB&I's 2021 defeat in Sweden.

Despite being the youngest player in the match, Scotland's Connor Graham may be one of the toughest opponents. Able to draw on experience from last year's match, Graham is also very familiar with the Rosemount course. Living just a few hundred metres from the club, the 15-year-old is a member at Blairgowrie and will look to exploit his home course advantage this week.

The Junior Vagliano Trophy

The Junior Vagliano Trophy, formerly played every other year, will be played in conjunction with the Jacques Léglise Trophy for the first time. The match was first played in 2011 as a junior version of the Vagliano Trophy. The format is virtually identical to the boys' match, with three foursomes matches on both mornings and six singles matches on both afternoons.

Now in its 7th edition, all six of the matches have been won by the Continent of Europe side so far. GB&I will look to make the most of their home advantage and clinch their first victory at Blairgowrie this week.

A number of high-profile players have competed on both sides of the match in the past including Solheim Cup stars Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen. European Ladies’ Amateur Champions, Agathe Laisne, Bronte Law and Alice Hewson all also competed in the junior version of the match before graduating to the women’s teams.

Three of the GB&I team are making their second appearance in the match. Grace Crawford (SCO), Rosie Bee Kim (ENG) and Maggie Whitehead (ENG) all competed for the team at Hilversumsche Golf Club in 2021.

The European side will only feature 'rookies', the six girls will represent their continent for the first time. Among them is recently crowned European Young Masters Champion, Perla Sol Sigurbrandsdottir, who became the first Icelandic player to claim gold at the event last month.